Rafael Nadal dismisses Shakira romance rumours

Reports of a blossoming romance started making rounds following a series of meetings between the pair.

Last March (09), the Colombian singer reportedly cosied up to Nadal in Miami, Florida after watching the athlete qualify for the Miami Masters, and the pair was also spotted dining at a Barcelona hotel before shooting a video together in the city late last week.

However, a representative for Nadal, Benito Perez-Barbadillo, has brushed off the rumours, insisting the pair is not an item.

Benito said that he, Nadal's manager Carlos Costa, and video director Jaume de Laiguana were also at the restaurant.

"We were all there, and Shakira only came when we'd finished the main course to have something to drink, accompanied by her manager, Ceci Kurzman, and Jaume. It was a dinner organised with the director to brief Rafa on what was expected from him in the video," the Daily Express quoted him as telling the New York Post.

Earlier this month, Shakira celebrated her 33rd birthday with long-time fiancé Antonio De La Rua, while Nadal has been dating high school sweetheart Maria Francisca Perello, a.k.a. Xisca, for nearly four years. (ANI)